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P. H. HUBBARD & J. J. ASHLEY. I

' ELECTRIC PLASTER.

No.244,242. PatentedJuly-12,188 1.

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1 ATTORNEYS/ wrmas Pholo-ljmognpber. Washington. a. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK H. HUBBARD AND JOHN J. ASHLEY, OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

ELECTRIC PLASTE R.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 244,242, dated July 12, 1881.

Application filed May 17, 1881. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, FREDERICK H. HUB- BARD and JOHN J. ASHLEY, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Electric Plaster, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

The. object of this invention is to increase or supplement the healing and curative effects of the ordinary porous or other plaster.

Our invention relates to improvements in that class of healing-plasters which are designed to have the curative properties supple mented or increased by electrical currents.

In plasters of this character as at present constructed the electric currents are produced by the employment of rectangular or other shaped plates arranged in proper contact. This peculiarity of construction and arrangement tends to render the plaster stiff and unyielding, and serves to irritate and annoy the wearer.

The purpose of our present invention is to overcome all the disadvantages and provide a porous plaster which, while it shall involve the same principle of generating electrical currents, shall at the same time be yielding and comfortable to the body of the wearer; and

with these ends in view our invention consists of a plaster designed to be placed next to the skin of the wearer, and having embedded in or laid upon the surface of the same a series of interwoven wires or very thin flexible strips of copper and zinc or other suitable positive and negative metals, which, by contact with each other, will, when acted upon by the acid perspiration or emanations of the body, generate and apply to the body a constant electrical current, and at the same time permit the plaster to readily adapt itself to the form and motion of the body of the wearer, as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved plaster with parts broken away to exhibitother parts. Fig. 2 is a cross-section on line 3 3 Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a portion of an enlarged cross-section on line 90 m, Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In the drawings, A represents an ordinary porous plaster, having perforations a a and the ordinary coverings b b on its face, that are applied for convenience of packing and transportation. Thin strips of copper B and thin strips 0 of zinc are placed upon the adhesive face of the plaster A, as shown, with their ends or other parts of them in contact, as shown at c c, the substance of the plaster itself possessing sufficient adhsiveness to hold said strips B O in position.

We are aware that it is not new to provide medicated plasters with plates to produce voltaic action; but we have discovered that in the use of plates the necessary pliability of the plaster is seriously affected, and they are rendered somewhat stiff and uncomfortable to the wearer. The gist of our invention rests in the idea of employing, to produce the necessary voltaic action, wires of copper and wires of zinc, finely spun, so that the plaster may more readily adapt itself to the body of the wearer than can be the case where plates are employed.

Preferably we use exceedinglynarrow strips of copper and zinc cut from the thinnest copper and zinc foil, so that these metal strips shall not appreciably decrease the flexibility of the plaster itself. These strips B C may be applied as herein shown or maybe interlaced or crossed, so as to have more points of contact with each other; or exceedingly fine wire or wire-gauze composed of the two or equivalent metals may be used.

When the plaster is to be used the coverings b b are removed and the plaster applied with the wires B 0 next the skin.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- A medicated plaster having embedded in or laid upon its surface finely-spun copper and zinc wire of such conformation and arrangement, as described, that, while the necessary voltaic action is produced, the plaster is left pliable and yielding, as hereinbefore set forth.

FREDERICK H. HUBBARD. JOHN J. ASHLEY.

Witnesses I. I. S'roRER, O. SEDGWICK. 

